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Ballpark singer in the race of his life

Man has a musical goal before illness claims him

Glen Singer gets ready to sing "God Bless America" during Thursday night's minor-league baseball game between Memphis and Nashville in Nashville, Tenn. Singer also performs the national anthem at games.

Published: Saturday, July 13, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 8:09 p.m.

A man dressed in pants decorated like the American flag and a white shirt sang an inspiring rendition of the national anthem at McCormick Field on Wednesday night.

Most of the people in the stadium didn't know how inspiring Glen Singer's performance truly was. One doctor has described Singer as a "cardiac catastrophe waiting to happen." A diabetic with an inoperable blockage in his arteries, Singer has three or maybe four years left to live, doctors say.

"I was diagnosed last year with two severe cardiac issues. I was a manager at a restaurant and had to quit my job because I did so much heavy lifting," said Singer, 53, who lives in San Jose, Calif. "It got that severe."

The diagnosis led to a bucket list, and atop that list was something Singer's wanted to do his entire life.

"I've always wanted to visit baseball parks all across the nation and sing the national anthem, so that's what I'm doing," Singer said Thursday from the parking lot at the stadium of the Nashville (Tenn.) Sounds minor-league team.

But these aren't just any ballparks. Singer has exclusively picked 62 minor-league stadiums, and he's singing at all of them over 76 days. Asheville's McCormick Field was stop No. 19.

"I love small-town baseball, so that's why I want to go to as many minor-league parks as I can. When I started back in March, I sent out emails to 172 minor-league teams. I ended up picking the ones that were geographically close to each other so that the trips would be possible," he said.

Following Wednesday's rained-out game in Asheville, Singer was on the road headed to Music City for his next stop.

"I hate that my Asheville stop was so short. I got to talk to a few people, and I had a really great time," he said. "Unfortunately since the game ended up getting rained out, Asheville will be one of the short chapters in my book. This was the first rainout of my tour."

The book is called "A Singer's Tour of American Baseball," and each stadium in his journey will be a chapter. One chapter will also be on a Major League stadium.

"On July 5, I got to sing at the Texas Rangers' ballpark. I didn't get to sing the anthem that night, but I did sing ‘God Bless America' during the seventh-inning stretch," Singer said. "Another thing on my bucket list was to be on TV, singing. I didn't get to watch the game on TV since I was there, so I have no idea if I can check that off yet."

After Nashville, Singer had the longest trip on his tour — a 12-hour drive to Port St. Lucie, Fla., where he also has relatives.

"I brought my camera along for the trip, but to be honest, I haven't taken any photos yet. I have the camera to take photos of my relatives in Florida. I want to take pictures of them before I croak or they do," he said.

Singer will have 10 days of rest during his 31-state, 15,000-mile trip that's costing him an estimated $7,000. Along the way, he's made many friends but has landed just one sponsor to help with expenses.

"I have to wear their T-shirts and hats at the big Triple-A games. But that money they gave me certainly came in handy. My car croaked in Texas at the ballpark, and I had to go buy another one. I used most of that money for the down payment on the new car," he said.

The minor-league regular season will come to a close on Sept. 2, as will Singer's journey.

"I'm going up the East Coast and traveling through the Midwest before I finally end up in Salem, Ore., for the final stadium of my trip," he said.

"After that, I'm heading home to edit my book and hopefully have my book completed by the fall. I want to have it published, and that's next on my bucket list."

<p>A man dressed in pants decorated like the American flag and a white shirt sang an inspiring rendition of the national anthem at McCormick Field on Wednesday night.</p><p>Most of the people in the stadium didn't know how inspiring Glen Singer's performance truly was. One doctor has described Singer as a "cardiac catastrophe waiting to happen." A diabetic with an inoperable blockage in his arteries, Singer has three or maybe four years left to live, doctors say.</p><p>"I was diagnosed last year with two severe cardiac issues. I was a manager at a restaurant and had to quit my job because I did so much heavy lifting," said Singer, 53, who lives in San Jose, Calif. "It got that severe."</p><p>The diagnosis led to a bucket list, and atop that list was something Singer's wanted to do his entire life.</p><p>"I've always wanted to visit baseball parks all across the nation and sing the national anthem, so that's what I'm doing," Singer said Thursday from the parking lot at the stadium of the Nashville (Tenn.) Sounds minor-league team.</p><p>But these aren't just any ballparks. Singer has exclusively picked 62 minor-league stadiums, and he's singing at all of them over 76 days. Asheville's McCormick Field was stop No. 19.</p><p>"I love small-town baseball, so that's why I want to go to as many minor-league parks as I can. When I started back in March, I sent out emails to 172 minor-league teams. I ended up picking the ones that were geographically close to each other so that the trips would be possible," he said.</p><p>Following Wednesday's rained-out game in Asheville, Singer was on the road headed to Music City for his next stop.</p><p>"I hate that my Asheville stop was so short. I got to talk to a few people, and I had a really great time," he said. "Unfortunately since the game ended up getting rained out, Asheville will be one of the short chapters in my book. This was the first rainout of my tour."</p><p>The book is called "A Singer's Tour of American Baseball," and each stadium in his journey will be a chapter. One chapter will also be on a Major League stadium.</p><p>"On July 5, I got to sing at the Texas Rangers' ballpark. I didn't get to sing the anthem that night, but I did sing 'God Bless America' during the seventh-inning stretch," Singer said. "Another thing on my bucket list was to be on TV, singing. I didn't get to watch the game on TV since I was there, so I have no idea if I can check that off yet."</p><p>After Nashville, Singer had the longest trip on his tour — a 12-hour drive to Port St. Lucie, Fla., where he also has relatives.</p><p>"I brought my camera along for the trip, but to be honest, I haven't taken any photos yet. I have the camera to take photos of my relatives in Florida. I want to take pictures of them before I croak or they do," he said.</p><p>Singer will have 10 days of rest during his 31-state, 15,000-mile trip that's costing him an estimated $7,000. Along the way, he's made many friends but has landed just one sponsor to help with expenses.</p><p>"I have to wear their T-shirts and hats at the big Triple-A games. But that money they gave me certainly came in handy. My car croaked in Texas at the ballpark, and I had to go buy another one. I used most of that money for the down payment on the new car," he said.</p><p>The minor-league regular season will come to a close on Sept. 2, as will Singer's journey. </p><p>"I'm going up the East Coast and traveling through the Midwest before I finally end up in Salem, Ore., for the final stadium of my trip," he said. </p><p>"After that, I'm heading home to edit my book and hopefully have my book completed by the fall. I want to have it published, and that's next on my bucket list."</p>